2017 Australian Open

[RidetheSeal]

The match last night between Fed and Kyrgios was even better. Phenomenal atmosphere and sublime tennis. 3 tiebreakers with Fed finally pulling out the win. This kid Kyrgios has a big game and immense talent but has trouble keeping his emotions in check. The crowd was on him the whole night. He was smashing racquets, cursing at the crowd etc, it was like a Davis Cup match. Fun stuff.

Now we get Fed/Nadal in the finals again. Roger's beaten him 3 times in a row and has the chance for his first Miami title since 2006. Nadal still looking for his first. Should be a good one. Can't believe the level Federer is playing at this year. What a treat to watch.

 

[thestardawg]

Kyrgios has the talent to be number 1. The serve is lethal and the athleticism makes Gael Monfils blush, but he tends to make terrible decisions, and you are right, he lets emotions ruin matches for him. I hope he gets it under control.

 

[InstaFace]

I've seen a crowd be very partisan for the likes of Federer or Nadal, but I've never seen a crowd root against a player the way they were booing Kyrgios and cheering his mistakes.

Third-to-last point, I think the one at 5-4* in the third tiebreak, someone shouted out as Kyrgios went to hit it and he went into an expletive-laced tirade directed at the crowd afterwards. These are the guys who paid their money to come see you, Nick. Maybe stop giving them reasons to do that shit.

 

[InstaFace]

Federer-Nadal championship match going on right now. First 5 games all went to deuce. Shaping up to be a barn-burner.

 

[Sportsbstn]

An aging Nadal without some of his quickness around the court will struggle to win more majors. Federer with his precision and power was mostly offset against nadal by the fact he had to hit perfect shots of Rafa would run them down, but no more.

 

[InstaFace]

I was actually impressed by Rafa's offense. It wasn't enough to break Federer but it was enough to get a bunch of break points, some of which he'd convert on a different day. The difference between Nadal 2009 and Nadal Today is more on the defensive speed side, to my eyes. He's giving up on far more balls than he used to. But offensively, the power behind his trademark topspin forehand is overpowering even top players, even on hard courts today, and I rarely saw an unforced error on it. I think he's got plenty of title contention left in him as long as his knees are as healthy as they are today.

 

[BigMike]

Pretty impressive run for Federer.

He said after the tournament that he will skip the clay court season; although, he will play in Paris. I guess he will be a 5-8 seed. It's funny because this is what I pretty much would have wanted him to do for years.

 

[Sportsbstn]

Pretty impressive run for Federer.

He said after the tournament that he will skip the clay court season; although, he will play in Paris. I guess he will be a 5-8 seed. It's funny because this is what I pretty much would have wanted him to do for years.

It has been a very solid run for Roger. I do think though that as much as he is playing better, the other top players like Murray, Joker and Rafa have all come back to earth just as much.

 

[BigMike]

It has been a very solid run for Roger. I do think though that as much as he is playing better, the other top players like Murray, Joker and Rafa have all come back to earth just as much.

Well I think that is somewhat unfair. Yes Murray and Djoker have come back to earth. Nadal on the other hand would be having an amazing season if Roger were not there, and is playing better than he has since late 2013, and is about as on top of his game as he can be now.

On the other hand we are actually starting to see the young generation finally gain confidence, raise their game, and stop being simply cannon fodder for the top 5-6 guys in the world

 

[RidetheSeal]

Pretty impressive run for Federer.

He said after the tournament that he will skip the clay court season; although, he will play in Paris. I guess he will be a 5-8 seed. It's funny because this is what I pretty much would have wanted him to do for years.

Surprised he's not at least playing Rome or Madrid as a warm up.

 

[BigMike]

Surprised he's not at least playing Rome or Madrid as a warm up.

I kind of thought he would but it makes a ton of sense. Clay court events and the clay court season is such a grind. The game is so taxing, and physically demanding. I think Roger believes he has a much better chance at Wimbledon, and in NY, then he does in Paris. So save his energy for them

He knows who he is, so he has to go to Paris, and play there, so he'll do that, and assuming the draw works out well, pretty good chance he'll make the second week

So 4-5 tournaments between now and the US Open should allow him to stay fresh

 

[InstaFace]

I bet he'll play one warm-up if he's feeling good. Probably Madrid. 1000 ranking points is too much to pass up, since he's in striking distance of a top ranking.

 

[RidetheSeal]

I kind of thought he would but it makes a ton of sense. Clay court events and the clay court season is such a grind. The game is so taxing, and physically demanding. I think Roger believes he has a much better chance at Wimbledon, and in NY, then he does in Paris. So save his energy for them

He knows who he is, so he has to go to Paris, and play there, so he'll do that, and assuming the draw works out well, pretty good chance he'll make the second week

So 4-5 tournaments between now and the US Open should allow him to stay fresh

Yeah I actually thought he would have skipped Paris altogether to get ready for the big 2 especially since he doesn't have any points to defend from last years tourny. Maybe you're right that he has to play it being who he is but I am still surprised no warm up events. I'm sure he'll do some training on a clay surface.

 

[jsinger121]

Serena won the Aussie Open pregnant without dropping a set. This also means she won't play play in the French Open, Wimbledon or US Open.